getting ready for will's funeral was hard on lydia, so she wondered why dustin was so casual about it. he was almost, excited. while she was tying his tie for him, the kid couldn't sit still. he was more jittery than usual. even at the funeral, he was whispering to mike and giggling. when she looked at the boys, none of them seemed phased. what she didn't know, was that the three boys knew that their friend was alive. and they were devising a plan to get him back.

after the funeral had concluded, lydia had looked around for jonathan and nancy with them nowhere to be found. she walked through the graveyard, seeing two crouched figures behind a gated tombstone. she made her way over, hearing the last remnants of their conversation.

"whatever this thing is, it's not traveling far."

"you wanna go out there."

"go out where?" the teens jumped at the sound of her voice.

"uh, n-nowhere." nancy stammered out.

"we were just, uh, we were talking about, uh, about," jonathan looked to nancy for an excuse as lydia watched both of them. she crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow at the two.

"so i know you're lying," she walked around the fence and towards the unlikely duo. "and you know you're lying, so why don't we just stop lying and tell me the truth?" she gestured to herself before dropping her arms. the nervous teens exchanged glances before the older byers handed her a piece of paper.

"these are three locations where a creature with no face has been spotted." she studied the map of hawkins before looking up at them.

"we think this, creature took barb and will." the brunette nodded as she looked at the map again. "okay, i'm in." handing the paper back to jonathan, she watched as their expressions quickly turned from anxiety to full-blown confusion.

"w-wait, i'm sorry. what?" the wide-eyed wheeler girl looked at lydia in complete disbelief. "i said i'm in. i want to know what took will and barb, and i want to help." they conceded.

"okay, but if we do see this creature while we are out there," he looked at the two girls. "we kill it." sighing intensely, the brunette clapped her hands together.

"alright. let's go monster hunting."

~

after planning to meet nancy at her house after the wake, lydia rushed home to get changed. she wore a flannel under her grey nike sweater and tucked it into her high waisted jeans, tightening a belt around her waist. she grabbed a green and blue windbreaker and her white reeboks before leaving the house. before she got in the car, she took a minute to think about what she would use to fight off this creature. she lacked a weapon. rushing back into the house, she scoured her mother's closet for the small box where she kept the key to the safe. once she found the small box and got the key, she opened the safe. inside was their passports, some cash, family heirlooms, and her father's old pistol. she grabbed the gun, checking the barrel before sticking it in the back of her jeans. she eyed the box of bullets before taking it and closing the safe.

lydia had her doubts about the gun. only having one available weapon while fighting a monster didn't seem like the best plan, especially since they didn't even know of bullets worked against the monster. running to the shed, she looked for something that could be of use. her eyes landed on a hockey stick. she held it in her hands and turned it over a few times, trying to remember the way it felt in her hands. she hoped that the few years that she had spent playing street hockey would be put to good use.

"i don't think this will be enough." she muttered to herself. looking around, she saw barbed wire hanging on the wall. after her mother's garden had been attacked by varying woodland creatures, lydia had built a barbed wire fence surrounding it. in this moment she was grateful for the animals that had uprooted her mother's hydrangeas. pulling on a pair of gardening gloves, she wrapped the barbed wire around the top of the hockey stick until she was satisfied with the weapon. now that she was properly equipped, she was ready.

~

as lydia pulled up to the curb, she saw a familiar maroon bmw parked in front of the house. exiting her car, she caught a glimpse of steve and nancy talking in the open garage. she approached slowly, trying her best to walk like she didn't have pistol stuck in the back of her jeans.

"just take those old records of the shelf," steve sang. "i'll sit and listen to them by myself."

"i just, i-i don't think i can. i've been really busy with this funeral thing and with my brother. it's been really hard on him." nancy lied. the couple was too caught up in their conversation to notice the girl approaching.

"she's also busy with me." she slung her arm around nancy, making them jump. "sorry stevie, im stealing your girl."

"jesus, lyds how are you everywhere?" nance breathed out. he gave his girl a hug, resting his chin on her head. watching the dynamic between the friends made the older wheeler think about how perfect they would be for each other. she felt guilty that the thought even crossed her mind, but it was true. they were so comfortable with each other and they knew just about everything about one another. it felt like they were meant to be together. before nancy could entertain the thought any longer, steve spoke up.

"alright i'm gonna leave you two ladies alone now, but uh, i'll call you later?" he looked to her hopefully. she gave him a shy grin before nodding. "yeah, later." stepping on her tiptoes she gave him a quick peck on the lips. steve pulled in lydia for a side hug.

"take care of her alright?" he whispered as he pressed a soft kiss to the top of her head. she nodded. "i pinky promise. she will be my number one priority." smiling at her he gave her shoulder a reassuring squeeze.

"that's my girl."